Google Pixel 6 Pro vs. Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra: 2021's best phones go head to head

Published 21 hours ago

The battle of Android flagships

Google finally has a flagship Pixel phone that can compete with the best of what Samsung has to offer. In many ways, the Google Pixel 6 Pro is a more compelling device than the Galaxy S21 Ultra, mainly thanks to its more attractive price-to-performance ratio. However, Google doesn't just let the lower price tag of its Pixel phone do the talking. The Tensor chip, 50MP primary camera, massive battery, and excellent display ensures the Pixel 6 Pro is more than capable of taking on the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Phone Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra Google Pixel 6 Pro Chipset Snapdragon 888/Exynos 2100 Google Tensor RAM 12GB, 16GB 12GB Storage 128, 256, 512GB 128, 256, 512GB Display 6.8” QHD+ (1440x3200, 20:9) LTPO 120Hz 6.7” QHD+ (1440x3120, 19.5:9) LTPO 120Hz Battery 5000mAh, 25W fast charging, up to 15W wireless charging 5003mAh, 30W fast charging, up to 23W wireless charging Rear Cameras 108MP f/1.8 primary, 0.8µm large pixels, OIS and PDAF; 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide (120° FoV); 10MP f/2.4 3x optical zoom sensor with OIS; 10MP f/4.9 10x optical zoom with OIS; 100x digital zoom 50MP f/1.85 primary (82° FoV w/OIS); 12MP f/2.2 ultra-wide (114° FoV); 48MP f/3.5 telephoto w/OIS; 4x optical and up to 20x Super Res Zoom Front Camera 40MP f/2.2 with autofocus 11.1MP f/2.2 (94° FoV, fixed focus) Connectivity 5G, Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, Ultra-Wideband 5G, Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, Ultra-Wideband Dimensions 165.1 x 75.6 x 8.9 mm, 227 g, IP68 certified 163.9 x 75.9 x 8.9 mm, 210 g, IP68 certified Colors Phantom Black, Phantom Silver, Phantom Titanium, Phantom Navy, Phantom Brown, Navy Sorta Sunny, Cloudy White, and Stormy Black Price Starting at $1,200 Starting at $900

Massive Glass Sandwiches

Since the Pixel 6 Pro and the Galaxy S21 Ultra are flagship phones, they have the same recipe for their build quality: an aluminum frame with Gorilla Glass Victus at the front and back that's IP68 certified. The only difference is that the Pixel 6 Pro has a two-tone glossy back, while the Galaxy S21 Ultra features a matte finish. This makes it easier to grip Samsung's offering, but given the massive size of both phones, one-handed usage is a challenge.

From a design viewpoint, the Pixel 6 Pro has a unique look as its camera bar tends to stand out more. It all comes down to one's preference, whether they like the Pixel 6 Pro's visor-like camera strip or the understated design of the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

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Similar Displays

The Pixel 6 Pro and the Galaxy S21 Ultra sport among the best possible displays on the market right now. They are big, bright, feature curved edges, and have a 120Hz refresh rate. Thanks to LTPO, they are also power-efficient as they can dynamically adjust the refresh rate to as low as 10Hz. The display size is all but identical on both phones: 6.71-inch on the Pixel 6 Pro vs. 6.8-inch on the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

Both phones have an in-display fingerprint scanner, but the Pixel 6 Pro uses an optical sensor while the Galaxy S21 Ultra has an ultrasonic solution. The latter is usually more secure albeit slower to unlock, but something quirky is going on with Pixel 6 Pro's fingerprint sensor. It's awfully slow and unreliable, much worse than the Galaxy S21 Ultra's, which is something we hope that Google will address in a future software update.

Flagship Performance

The Google Pixel 6 Pro and the Galaxy S21 Ultra are high-end Android flagships packing the best possible specs. Samsung's offering uses a Snapdragon 888 chip in the US and the Exynos 2100 chip in international markets. The Pixel 6 Pro stands out from other Android phones in the market because it packs Google's first in-house smartphone chip: Tensor. It has been specifically designed for the Pixel 6 series, enabling some intriguing software features not to be found on other devices, like improved voice typing and live translations.

In benchmarks, the Snapdragon 888's CPU has an 8-10 percent advantage over the Tensor, but the latter pulls ahead in GPU performance. However, the Pixel 6 Pro still delivers better results in real-world use thanks to Google's underlying optimizations. Both phones also pack oodles of RAM and storage: 12GB RAM and up to 512GB storage.

The Best Cameras

The Galaxy S21 Ultra has a more versatile quad-camera setup, while the Pixel 6 Pro packs a triple-camera array. Samsung equipped its phone with an optically stabilized 1/1.33-inch 108MP primary camera with f/1.8 aperture, Laser AF, PDAF, and 0.8µm large pixels. Google's flagship has a slightly bigger 50MP sensor with OIS, f/1.9 aperture, Laser AF, and 1.2µm large pixels. Both phones take absolutely excellent photos, with the difference primarily boiling down to their processing.

The Pixel 6 Pro does not underexpose images as much as previous Pixel phones and can instead overexpose them in certain situations, especially in low-light scenarios. As we noted in our review, one major issue with the Pixel 6 Pro is lens flare, which is pretty pronounced. We hope this can be fixed via a software update, though. On the other hand, the Galaxy S21 Ultra takes photos with saturated colors and contrast, though Samsung has toned down its processing this year. The 10x telephoto lens is also a gem and can take some great photos in daylight.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra has a more versatile telephoto setup courtesy of its two zoom lenses. There's one 10MP f/2.4 telephoto sensor with 3x optical zoom and another 10MP f/4.9 sensor offering 10x optical zoom. The secondary telephoto lens kicks in when 10x or higher zoom is needed, ensuring image quality is not significantly hit. On paper, the Galaxy S21 Ultra offers up to 100x digital zoom, though the images it outputs at such zoom levels are anything but usable. The Google Pixel 6 Pro, in comparison, only has a single 48MP f/3.5 telephoto lens offering 4x optical zoom and up to 20x Super Res Zoom.

Both phones also feature a 12MP f/2.2 ultrawide, though the one on the Galaxy S21 Ultra has a slightly wider FoV: 120˚ vs. 114˚.

In the selfie department, the Pixel 6 Pro makes do with an 11.1MP f/2.2 84˚FoV. The Galaxy S21 Ultra has a notably higher resolution 40MP f/2.2 shooter, but its field of view is not as wide as Google's offering, limiting the number of people you can capture in group selfies (groupfies?).

Excellent Battery Life, Fast Charging

The Pixel 6 Pro and Galaxy S21 Ultra both have a 5,000mAh battery, which means they should easily last a day of heavy use. You can also charge them quickly with fast wired and wireless charging support. Interestingly, despite the Pixel 6 Pro supporting slightly faster charging speeds than the Galaxy S21 Ultra (30W vs. 25W), it is the latter that takes less time to go from 0-100 percent according to a few tests found online.

None of the phones are among the fastest charging ones around out there though, and they take well over an hour to go from 0 to 100 percent. Additionally, both Samsung and Google do not bundle a power adapter with the devices, so you'll have to buy one separately if you don't have one already.

The Pixel 6 Pro also supports faster 23W wireless charging speeds, with the Galaxy S21 Ultra topping out at 15W. There's support for reverse wireless charging on both phones.

A Close Contest

The Pixel 6 Pro and the Galaxy S21 Ultra represent the absolute best of what Android OEMs can offer. These phones are very similar in some regards and differ wildly in others. The Pixel 6 Pro has the edge over the Galaxy S21 Ultra in software as it runs Google's flavor of Android and is the first in line to receive new OS updates. Samsung has stepped up its game in the software department with regular and speedy updates, though, and One UI has plenty of useful features that are a boon to have in day-to-day use.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra has a higher sticker price than the Google Pixel 6 Pro: $1199 vs. $899. However, Samsung's offering is almost always discounted by $200-$300, so you can usually get the phone for less than $1,000. That's still a bit more expensive than the Pixel 6 Pro, making the S21 Ultra a hard sell, especially since it does not offer any other compelling features that justify the price apart from the more versatile zoom camera setup.

The only other reason you should buy the Galaxy S21 Ultra over the Pixel 6 Pro is availability. The latter is only available in a handful of markets, while Samsung sells the Galaxy S21 Ultra in over 60+ countries.